Edinburgh Private Walking Tour

The Castle Esplanade will be our first stop. From here, we will enjoy stunning views of the city and see where the Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes place. We'll talk about the history of one of Edinburgh's oldest buildings. As we recall the fascinating stories of kings, queens, battles and sieges, we'll delve into the secrets of the castle.

From the Castle Esplanade, we will walk down hill towards Victoria Street, the most picturesque and colorful street of Edinburgh.

At the end of Victoria Street we will enter the Grassmarket, a large plaza famous for its pubs and its dark past.

From the Grassmarket, we will walk up Candlemarker Row. At the end of the street we will find Edinburgh's most famous and loyal dog, Bobby! We'll also see the dog statue located just outside of the graveyard.

Behind Bobby, we will find the entrance to Greyfriars Kirkyard. This historic graveyard we will understand what the Mortsafes are, and learn about the connection between the Scottish Covenants and the George Mackenzie Mausoleum.

We'll enter the National Museum of Scotland and walk through the Grand Gallery: we'll explore some of the museum's highlights in the Scottish and international collections. There will be time for coffee and a rest.

After the National Museum of Scotland we will head towards the Royal Mile via Cowgate. We will explain where the name Royal Mile comes from and explore its historical highlights. The first stop will be St. Giles Cathedral. We'll talk about the architecture of the most important church in Scotland, and discover the history of the Presbyterian religion. We will also walk to West Parliament Square to talk about the Act of Union.

Behind St. Giles Cathedral we will find the Mercat Cross, once the site of public announcements and punishments. We will also explain why the unicorn appears at the top of this structure.

As we walk down the Royal Mile we will explore some of the 'closes' and understand what these narrow, dark, alleyways were used for. We'll recall the stories of those who once lived here.

On the Royal Mile, we will stop outside of John Knox House and also see where one of the city gates used to stand.

We'll stop at the Canongate Tolbooth and explain why, in this part of the city, we find representations of a golden stag’s head with a cross between its antlers.

A few minutes down the road from Canongate, we will see the Scottish Parliament. This modern building is very controversial, let's see what you think of its quirky architecture!

We will then move to our final stop. the Palace of Holyroodhouse. We'll look at the Palace from the main gate, and discuss its history and architecture.